VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

FOUNDED MAY 1989 MEETINGS - SECOND EDITOR COMMENTS SATURDAY OF THE MONTH Ransomware, which takes control of your files or computer and forces you to pay $300 or more to regain iPHONE/iPAD ISSUE control, is a growing form of malware. Antivirus apps don’t appear to stop it. W i p i n g y o u r M a c a n d Tips and Tricks To Make Your Images "Pop" restoring from backup Our main presenter at Saturday’s meeting will be Bill Achuff. The ability appears to be the only to digitally capture moments in our lives, is now in the hands of almost defense. Please read The everyone. Cameras have become as commonplace as has the mobile G r o w i n g T h r e a t o f phone. MY, how our lives have changed. Ransomware on pages 23-27. Many of us communicate with one another through photography— facilitated by resources like Flickr, Instagram, and Facebook. But just as not everyone who writes, can write WELL, not everyone who snaps a photo can capture an image that can convey a positive message. MAY LOCATION Bill will review some of the applications he uses to process the majority NOT OUR USUAL!! of his photos, including some that are free and many that are inexpensive and relatively easy to use. He’ll REMEMBER - We’re still steer clear of the mainstream apps like Lightroom and Photoshop and set sail into lesser charted waters. meet at Ludington Library "Recently I’ve begun trying to differentiate my work, even common photos, from those of others,” Bill says, “so I make extensive use of applications like: On1 Photo 10, Smart Photo Editor Studio, in Bryn Mawr because of PostworkShop, FX Photo Studio Pro, photoFXlab, etc. Turning my photos into oils, watercolors, construction at Good Sam. sketches, and cartoons stimulates my imagination BEYOND finding the perfect, or NOT so perfect I t ’s a t t h e c o r n e r o f subject, and photographing it in a unique way.” Lancaster and Bryn Mawr Bill Achuff’s most recent career—that of professional photographer, has extended more than a decade. Avenues, near the Bryn He’s chosen not to specialize in one particular genre, instead opting for variety and diversity in the subjects he photographs. “News photography gave me that,” Bill says, “but the need for professional Mawr train station. photography has diminished. More and more news outlets are quite content accepting photos from ANYONE, so long as they’re timely and free.”

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CONTENTS Contributors & Authors Newsletter Editor Meeting & Editor Comments……………..…….…………1 Mark Bazrod Mark Bazrod MLMUG And Newsletter Info.…..……….………………2-4 Cory Bohon Bookmarks: Apple V. FBI………………………………5-7 Graphics Editor Kathy Garges 2016 Speaker Roster……………………………………….7 Sally Bazrod Brian Heater Turn On Siri on the iPad.………………………………8-10 Copy Editor Daniel Nations Select Text Faster On Your iPad Using……………….11 Deane Lappin the Virtual Touchpad Tom Nelson MLMUG Journal Set Any Picture As Background Wallpaper………..…12 Josh Norem On iPhone & iPad Masthead Leo Notenboom Designed by Dale Fletcher Take Notes On An iPad………..………………….…13-15 OSX Daily Based on prior designs by Best Ways To Print Photos From…..………………16-18 Your Smartphone Natasha Stokes Marc Robinson, Steve Evans & Bobby Foster Change Your Apple Device Names……………………19 Techradar Enable Wi-Fi Calling on iPhone……..…………..…20-21 M L M U G J o u r n a l i s published monthly by the Use Your iPad As A Phone…..…………………….……22 Main Line Macintosh Users The Growing Threat of Ransomware…………..…23-27 Group and is available MLMUG April 2016 Meeting Minutes…..………..….28-30 online. It is produced using Use Disk Utility To Clone A Mac's Drive…………….31-32 A p p l e P a g e s , w i t h a Take Screenshot And Copy To Clipboard…………….…32 Helvetica Neue font (Same How do I get rid of all this spam?!?!…………………33-35 as Yosemite). Find Files Faster Using Spotlight………………….…35-36 Keyword Searches Permission is granted to nonprofit groups and other Macintosh Best Free Photo Editing Software:………………..…37-40 10 Top Programs User Groups to reproduce items in this newsletter. Please include the author’s or artist’s name, the MLMUG Journal title, 2016 Guide: The Best Budget SSDs.……………..…41-44 and our copyright notice. A copy should also be mailed to: Ai: Best Of Both………………………………………. 44-46 Editor, MLMUG Journal, P.O. Box 1374, Southeastern, PA 19399 Photograph Of The Month………………..………….……40 or emailed to [email protected]. © 2016 Journal content not written by members is included courtesy of the sources or the fair use doctrine. Product names & images are trademarks or copyrights of the respective owners.

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Typical Meeting Agenda

9:00 - 9:05: Call to order in main meeting New Users SIG room. You don’t have to wait a whole month to 9:05 - 10:05: Three Concurrent Special get answers to your basic Mac questions! Interest Groups (SIGs) convene in Get together with other members on the fourth Saturday (i.e., two weeks after each separate rooms. The three current MLMUG Email list regular meeting) for the Startup Folder Lite. SIGs are: The Main Line Macintosh Users Group has its own email list. Many new users have said that they can Newer Users- We cover the most learn much more from face-to-face basic questions you may have about Compose your letter and email it to [email protected] and meetings than they do from manuals or your Mac/iDevices and how to use your message will be sent to other sources. That’s what this meeting is them. everyone on the mailing list. all about. Go to www.mlmug.org/nusfl.html for details. Multimedia - We discuss using your Posting to this list is restricted to Mac/iDevices and applications for MLMUG members. Contact Bob Barton if you are a member and Macintosh Programming SIG/ photo, video, audio, and print media. you are not on the list. Philly Mac Programming Group The objective of this group is to help OS - We go beyond basics to Please observe rules of etiquette. members become more familiar with the discuss Apple’s current operating See the Yahoo Groups Terms of c o n c e p t s o f M a c i n t o s h a n d i O S systems, using your Macs & Service. The MLMUG list may be programming, i.e., the elements of the iDevices, & various applications, & used to post Apple/Macintosh- Macintosh GUI, user interaction, file have Q&A. related items for sale, but any system, etc., and the main Mac solicitation of members through programming tools: AppleScript, Java, C, 10:05 - 10:15: Continuation of Q&A for all the list is forbidden without the and Objective C. attendees. written consent of a MLMUG officer. The list is hosted at Yahoo The Philly Mac Programming SIG meets at 10:15 - 10:30: Welcome and other business. Groups. 10:30 AM on the first Saturday of each month, but usually skips January and July. 10:30 - 11:50: Main Presentation (by a Contact Deivy Petrescu, Chair, for venue member or guest) information. www.phillymacprog.org. The 11:50 - Noon: Raffles and silent auctions. next meeting will probably be at Ludington Library in Bryn Mawr. Come join some fellow MLMUG members for lunch after the meeting at a nearby restaurant. 3 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

President, Program Director & Newsletter Copy Editor & Membership Information Vendor Liaison Apple User Group Membership dues are $25 for individuals and $35 for Maria O. Arguello Ambassador families. Memberships are based on your anniversary [email protected] Deane Lappin date, which is the month you joined. You will be e- Vice President & Promotion [email protected] mailed reminders when membership fee is due. Director Multimedia SIG Co-Chair If you’re just visiting to check us out, or if you’ve Susan Czarnecki Dale Fletcher been visiting for some time, but haven’t joined, [email protected] [email protected] consider these BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP: Treasurer, Membership & Facilities Coordinator Newer Users SIG Co-Chair • Monthly meetings, where you can learn, share, Elliott Cobin & Deputy Webmaster and meet everyone from working Mac [email protected] Bob Barton professionals to new Mac users from all Secretary & Newsletter Editor [email protected] backgrounds. Mark Bazrod Newsletter Graphics Editor • Monthly newsletter, which is full of interesting [email protected] Sally Bazrod Mac news, tips, and information. Member-at-Large [email protected] • Useful free items at the monthly Raffles. Larry Campbell OS SIG Chair • Vendors offer special prices to User [email protected] Discounts. Adam Rice Group members. Multimedia SIG Co-Chair & [email protected] Educational Liaison • Web Site with 12 months of MLMUG Linda McNeil Social Secretary newsletters, meeting information, a member Gail Montgomery [email protected] directory, directions to our meetings, and much gailemontgomery@comcast. more! Our web site is www.mlmug.org. net • MLMUG Mailing List, to post technical Webmaster questions or comments to each other and the Deivy Petrescu experts within the group. [email protected] • Reviewers keep items reviewed. Are you ready to join? Please make a check payable to MLMUG and bring it to a monthly meeting or mail it to: Treasurer, MLMUG P.O. Box 1374

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Bookmarks software maker to decrypt the device? Your device? Anyone’s device? A criminal’s device? A terrorist’s device? Is that power absolute? Apple V. FBI If the U.S. Government can force Apple, Facebook, Google or any US company to decrypt a device, can foreign governments force By Mark Bazrod that company to do the same for them? What rights need to be balanced against the U.S. government’s need to decrypt a device. An individual's privacy rights? A Grand Overview business's privacy rights? The Apple v. FBI case is about encryption and requires some What about the government's need to protect us from terrorists, understanding of encryption, although few of us really understand from computer criminals, from drug dealers, from other criminals? encryption. it requires a bit of knowledge of constitutional law, but What about government investigations? it is really about whether a balancing of privacy and security is The main reason you need to care about encryption is because necessary and, if so, how to achieve that balance. It’s a case for often it's the only thing between your data and the bad guys. our Congress, not our courts. Apple says the only way to guarantee that such a powerful tool Many say encryption is binary, i.e., either you have unbreakable isn’t abused and doesn’t fall into the wrong hands is to never encryption or you have useless encryption. create it. The Electronic Frontier Foundation says “You can’t build a backdoor into our digital devices that only good guys can use. Microsoft’s chief legal officer, Brad Smith, said at the RSA Just like you can’t put a key under a doormat that only the FBI will Conference earlier this year: "When it comes to security, there is ever find.” no technology that is more important than encryption. The path to hell starts with the back door, and we need to ensure that If you feel (as opposed to know) that Apple and the Electronic encryption technology remains strong.” Frontier Foundation are correct, you very probably believe there should be no back doors or decryption keys. RSA President Amit Yoran said: ‘Weakening encryption is solely for the ease and convenience of law enforcement. If we weaken our The main institutions and people who favor breaking encryption encryption, you can be sure the bad guys will use it against us.” are the FBI, the Department of Justice, Bill Gates, President Obama (mostly), and renowned commentator Fareed Zakaria In summary, for the nation as a whole to be secure from hackers, (subject to legal limits). criminals, terrorists, and foreign agents, our devices and services must also be secure from everyone else, including law The people favoring encryption are the Pentagon, the National enforcement. Of course, many disagree with this conclusion. Security Agency (NSA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Apple, most technology companies (including Google, Amazon, Beginning of the Discussion Facebook, and Microsoft), Mike McConnell, former National Should the US Government have lawful access to decrypt any Intelligence director, David Petraeus, former CIA director, R. James encrypted electronic device, or force the hardware manufacturer or Woolsey, former CIA director, Richard Clarke, former top White

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House counterterrorism official, Michael V. Hayden, former NSA You can divide the digital world into 3 camps: and CIA director, and Michael Chertoff, former Homeland Security Secretary. Camp 1: Pro-Encryption. People who believe that the government has absolutely no business snooping into our digital stuff. Quite a difference, eh? Encryption is always OK in their view. Also, people who believe encryption is necessary to protect ourselves from bad actors. Chertoff said “Creating a back door to get around encryption would be like creating “a bacteriological weapon.”” Camp 2: Anti-Encryption, pro law-enforcement, and pro-national security. The government always wins. Nothing is more important The Case than law-enforcement and national security requires that our good In February 2016 the FBI said it needed Apple’s technical help to guys always have the ability to track down the bad guys. get into the iPhone 5c used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the San Bernardino attackers. Camp 3: Get a lawful warrant. People who believe that privacy is important, but believe it is equally (or more) important for law The government contends that cooperation in cases like this could enforcement to be able to get information through a lawful warrant. help prevent terrorist attacks against Americans. This camp believes a compromise with the tech world should be The password mechanism built into the phone will erase the reached. They don't believe in the binary nature of encryption. phone’s data after 10 incorrect password attempts. Edward Snowden The FBI obtained a court order telling Apple to create a less secure Three years ago Edward Snowden disclosed the government’s version of iOS under 1789 All Writs Act. vast surveillance programs. Apple said forcing it to write new software violates its First Snowden’s revelations produced modest changes and a Amendment right. heightened suspicion of the government’s activities in cyberspace. Apple also said it could create a permanent way to bypass iPhone Because the issue now centers on a device most Americans carry password protection for law enforcement officials or even the spy in their pockets, it is personal in a way that surveillance by the agencies of other countries. NSA never was. The FBI withdrew the case because it hired a private company for Many experts say that cybersecurity is more important than more than $1,000,000 to get the data on the iPhone, which it did. fighting terrorism. Snowden says that the NSA had no problem The are other cases pending. The issue has not been resolved. decrypting terrorists’ messages and was getting into Chinese government hacker networks. In a similar case in Brooklyn in late February, a judge said in a 50- page ruling in Apple’s favor that the Justice Department had A one hour, 41 minute debate between Zakaria and Snowden is overstepped its authority. available at tinyurl.com/jo69ovc. It was co-hosted by The Century Foundation and NYU Wagner School of Public Service. Very And what if Apple employees refuse to break the encryption or worthwhile watching. It also contains extensive transcriptions and quit? comments. You’ll understand the issues much better after you watch and read the material. The Camps 6 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

Americans are deeply divided over the issue. Or again, does the government have absolute authority to inspect any electronic device? New Legislation Apple argues that Congress, not the courts, should set broad My opinion policies on investigators’ access to encrypted data. Protecting ourselves from criminal and foreign threats requires A California Bill would impose a $2,500 fine on tech companies for strong encryption, unbreakable encryption. This has the not obeying court orders. It was not approved for a full vote in the unfortunate side effect of similarly protecting criminals, terrorists, Assembly. and foreign entities from our good guys. Other states are drafting bills. I have a slight degree of ambivalence in the impending terrorist event case. The Feinstein/Burr draft bill gives judges the power to compel cooperation from tech companies to access their devices and And remember to watch and read the debate between Zakaria and services. It is doubtful that a divided Congress will be able to reach Snowden at tinyurl.com/jo69ovc! agreement on such a difficult and complex issue. What’s your conclusion? The Federal Government, in general, won't buy products that don't meet certain cryptographic standards. Apple has obtained that SPEAKER ROSTER FOR validation. Ironic. MLMUG'S 2016 MEETINGS Some suggest we form a commission of experts on intelligence, technology, and civil liberties to discuss the implications for law January 9 Podcasts - Mark Bazrod enforcement, national security, privacy, and personal freedoms. February 13 MS Office & Apple TV - Stan Horwitz The time to confront these issues is now. If we wait until after the March 12 Special Interest Groups next big terrorist attack, we could end up with a second Patriot April 9 iOS Security - Mike Inskeep Act. May 14 Tips & Tricks To Make Your Images"Pop" - Bill Achuff Some conclusions June 11 Picnic What’s so insanely stupid about this situation is that we've had this July 9 Recess - Summer fight before during the so-called Crypto Wars of the 1990s - a August 13 Recess - Summer Clipper Chip that could be unlocked by the government. The September 10 MLMUG University - Member Presos lessons from that fight were accepted even by U.S. intelligence October 8 Be Your Own IT - Sue Czarnecki services. November 12 Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus December 10 Holiday Party, Swap Meet, Members’ Intelligence professionals are increasingly vocal about the Show & Tell & Election of Officers necessity for all of us to be protected against malicious actors around the world. It’s more important than the ability of the FBI to access devices and communications belonging to some criminals.

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Daniel Nations updated the following article to about.com on April It should work on both Wi-Fi and when you are using the 4G data 29, 2016. tinyurl.com/jeouhxl © About.com. He has been writing, connection. programming and following technology since back in the Commodore Vic 20 days. What is "Hey Siri"? How To Turn On Siri On The iPad This feature allows you to activate Siri with your voice by proceeding any normal question or directive with "Hey Siri". Most By Daniel Nations iPads will need to be connected to a power source like a PC or a wall outlet for this to work, but starting with the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, "Hey Siri" will work even if not connected to power. When you flip the switch for Hey Siri, you will be asked to repeat short sentences in order to optimize Siri for your voice. How to Use Siri on the iPad

Siri has grown a lot since it was first introduced to the iPad. You can now launch apps with Siri, have her read your email, have Siri update your Facebook page so long as you have connected your iPad to Facebook, and even change Siri's voice to a man's voice. Do you want to get started using Siri? We'll cover turning her on in settings, what types of questions she can answer and even some funny questions you can ask her.

If you didn't turn on Siri when setting up your iPad, here's how to Siri requires a 3rd generation iPad or newer to work, which means turn the feature on: if you are still rocking an iPad 2, you won't be able to use Siri. And Tap the Settings app on your iPad to go into the settings. Get help because Siri passes your question up to Apple's servers to be opening these settings.Find "General" in the left-side menu and analyzed, it also requires either a Wi-Fi connection or the ability to tap it to bring up general settings.The Siri settings are near the top, access the Internet through 4G LTE. just under "Software Update". Tap the Siri button to proceed to How to activate Siri on the iPad those settings.Slide the button at the top from Off to On. Remember, you will need an active Internet connection to use Siri. First things first, you will need to let your iPad know that you want to ask Siri a question. 8 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

Similar to the iPhone, you can do this by holding the Home Button • Listen to [band name, song name]. Example: "List to The down a few seconds. Beatles." When activated, Siri will beep at you and the screen will prompt • Get me directions to [shop/restaurant name/address]. you for a question or directive. There will also be glowing lines Example: "Get me directions to Six Flags over Texas" or floating at the bottom of the screen indicating that Siri is listening. "Where is Gilmer, Texas?" Simply ask a question, and Siri will do her best to comply. • Will it rain [date]?. Example: "Will it rain tomorrow?" or If you want to ask additional questions while the Siri menu is open, "What is the weather like?" tap the microphone. The glowing lines will appear again, which means you can ask away. Remember: the glowing lines mean Siri Siri as a personal assistant: is ready for your question, and when they aren't glowing, she is not • Remind me to [do something] at [date/time]. Example: listening. "Remind me to walk the dog tomorrow at 10 AM." If you turned on Hey Siri, you do not need to press the Home • Button to get started. However, if you are actively holding your Schedule a meeting for [meeting] at [date/time]. iPad, it's usually easier to simply press the button. Example: "Schedule a meeting for work at 3 PM on Thursday." What Questions Can Siri Answer? • Change my meeting from [date/time] to [date/time]. Siri is a voice recognition artificial intelligence decision engine that Example: "Change my meeting from 3 PM on Thursday to 4 has been programmed with various databases that will enable her PM on Friday." to answer many of your questions. And if you got lost in that explanation, you are not alone. • Tweet [what you want to say]. Example: "Tweet: I am having a cup of coffee." Forget the technical stuff. Siri can perform a lot of basic tasks and answer various questions. Here is a range of things she can do for • Update my Facebook status to [what you want to say]. you: Example: "Update my Facebook status to: Just watched Doctor Who and loved it." Basic Siri questions and tasks: Siri will help feed and entertain you: • Call [name]. Example: "Call Tom." Show me nearby [type of food] restaurants. Example: "Show • Send text to [name] [text]. Example: "Send text to Tom: me nearby Mexican food restaurants." What did you say the name of that band was?" Find me [type of food] in [city]. Example: "Find me pizza in • Launch [app]. Example: "Launch Evernote." Dallas." • Search the web for [whatever]. Example: "Search the web Book a table at [date/time] for [restaurant]. Example: "Book a for best iPad strategy games." table at 6 PM for Via Real."

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What movies are playing? This will list out movies playing at Here are some examples of Siri performing calculations and nearby theaters. You can also add "in [city]" to check movies that finding information for you: aren't near your current location. • What is 18 "percent" of 32 "dollars" 57 "cents"? Siri is Show me a trailer for [movie]. Example: "Show me a trailer for great for figuring out how much you should tip or The Avengers." performing simple math. She can even plot out equations. What movies has [actor] starred in? Example: "What movies has • What is the price of AAPL? If you love to keep an eye on Tom Hanks starred in?" your favorite stock, Siri has your info for you. What movies has [director] directed? Example: "What movies • Where is area code 212? A good way to check where that has Penny Marshall directed?" unknown call originated. What is the cast of [tv series]? Example: "What is the cast of • How much is 20 British pounds in dollars? Siri can do a How I Met Your Mother?" lot of different monetary conversions, making her pretty good for vacations. Who wrote [book, movie, tv series]? Example: "Who wrote Harry Potter?" • How old is Mitt Romney? Your query will need to be about someone famous enough for her to recognize, but you can Siri knows sports: ask a variety of questions about well-known people. • Who are the [sports team] playing tonight? Example: • What time is it in London? Not only can Siri give you the "Who are the Rangers playing tonight?" time in locations across the world, she'll also be able to give • What is the score of the [sports team] game? Example: you facts like when the sun will rise in that location. "What is the score of the Giants game?" • What is the definition of mouse? She may not be able to • How are the [sports team] doing? Example: "How are the define Keynesian economics, but she can get most terms Yankees doing?" right. • Who is leading the league in [stat]? Example: "Who is • When is mother's day in 2013? This one can be really leading the league in rushing yards?" handy for everyone that wants to keep on their mom's good side. • How many [stat] does [player] have? Example: "How many rushing yards does Maurice Jones Drew have?" Siri is gushing with information: Siri is pretty intelligent, so feel free to experiment with different questions. Siri is connected to a number of different websites and databases, which means you can ask her a variety of questions.

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Daniel Nations updated the following article to about.com on The cursor will change from a vertical line to a vertical line with a September 14, 2015. tinyurl.com/hwynjxy. © About.com. He has circle on each end of it. This means you are in selection mode. been writing, programming and following technology since back in When you move your fingers, instead of simply moving the cursor, the Commodore Vic 20 days. it will select text starting with where the cursor was when the Select Text Faster On Your iPad Using The Virtual selection mode was engaged. Touchpad The Best Keyboard Tips and Shortcuts By Daniel Nations Tip: You don't need to put your fingers down on the keyboard to use the virtual touchpad. Anyone who has ever tried to move the cursor to the first letter on the screen knows moving the iPad's on-screen cursor can be a While my first instruction was to put two fingers down on the tricky process, and the little magnifying glass isn't always enough keyboard, you don't actually need your fingers to touch the on- to get the job done. This is why iOS 9's virtual touchpad is going screen keyboard to engage the virtual keyboard. It is easier to to make manipulating text on the iPad almost as easy as on a PC. teach the technique by touching the keyboard simply because the keyboard goes blank, alerting you that the virtual touchpad is So how does it work? engaged. But anywhere on the screen you can edit text, you can To engage the virtual touchpad, simply put two fingers down on tap your two fingers and engage the touchpad. You can even the keyboard. select text this way. Remember: It must be an area of the screen You will know it is working when the keys on the keyboard go where you can edit text. blank. To move the cursor, leave your two fingers down on the How to Multitask on the iPad screen and move them around just as you would on a normal touchpad. The cursor will follow your movement. And as a bonus, Why doesn't the touchpad work in my third-party app? you don't need to confine your movement to the keyboard section While the virtual touchpad should work in most apps that allow of the screen. When the virtual touchpad is engaged, you can you to type in text, it won't be supported in every app. Some third- move your fingers anywhere on the display, and it will act as one party apps may include touchpad support in a future release. And giant touchpad. if the app doesn't support editing text -- such as a web browser viewing a standard web page -- the touchpad may not work. You can also scroll through text by moving the cursor to the far top or to the far bottom of the screen. As you continue to move your Don't forget the new Undo button! fingers in that direction, the text will scroll with you. Apple has added a few app-specific buttons to the on-screen keyboard. In most apps that let you edit text, you wil have an You can also select text using the touchpad. This one might throw undo button to the left of the auto-correct suggestions. This you off a bit when you first begin using the virtual touchpad, but button usually looks like a button making a u-turn to the left-side once you get accustomed to using it, selecting text with the of the screen. Remember, this button is specific to certain apps, touchpad becomes a real timesaver. In order to select text, you will so it won't always be there. But if you do make a mistake need to start with the touchpad "unengaged". You will use two selecting, copying and pasting text, always look for the button on fingers to engage it as normal, only instead of moving your fingers the keyboard to undo your mistake. You can also shake the iPad to around the screen, you will hold them still for one-to-two seconds. undo the mistake.

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The following article was posted to osxdaily.com on April 21, 2016. 1. Open the “Photos” app and browse to the picture you want to inyurl.com/zwd9wot. © OSX Daily. Try the site. Lots of tips and good info. set as the background wallpaper image How To Set Any Picture As Background Wallpaper On 2. Tap on the sharing button, it looks like a box with an arrow iPhone & iPad flying out of it 3. Tap on the “Use as Wallpaper” button option 4. Arrange the picture as desired, then click on “Set” 5. Choose “Set Home Screen” to set the picture as the background image of the device (or choose ‘Set Lock Screen’ set it as the picture on the locked device where the clock shows) 6. Exit out of Photos app and return to the Home Screen by pressing the Home button, you’ll see the background of the iOS device has been set as the picture you chose That’s all there is to it, now the picture you chose will be the Home Screen wallpaper. If you chose “Set Both” during the setting process, the background wallpaper of both the lock screen and the Home Screen will have been changed to the image in question. That’s “How do you change the picture on the background?” is one of also a popular choice. the more common questions heard from newcomers to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This is all the more true when you took a You can do this with any picture that is in the Photos app of your great picture with the devices camera and you want to set that iPhone or iPad, whether it was taken with the camera, emailed to picture as the wallpaper on the iOS device, or when someone you, or saved from the web from one of our excellent wallpaper sends you a nice photo that saved to the device from Mail or found roundup collections. Happy wallpapering! with Safari, and now want to set as the background image of your NOTE - The site has several images demonstrating the screens. iPhone or iPad. We’ll show you how to quickly set the background wallpaper on the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you can choose any picture on your device to use as the wallpaper picture this way. Changing the Wallpaper Background in iOS This is the same on any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

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Daniel Nations posted the following article to about.com on April Notes 26, 2016. tinyurl.com/hbhn7yh. © About.com. He has been writing, programming and following technology since back in the The Notes app that comes with the iPad is easy to overlook, but if Commodore Vic 20 days. you are looking for a basic note-taking application that includes the ability to sketch your own notes, add images and perform How To Take Notes On An iPad basic formatting such as bolded text or bulleted lists, it may very well do the trick. By Daniel Nations Overview of Evernote iPhone App The biggest benefit of Notes is the ability to links notes across devices using iCloud. You can even view your Notes at iCloud.com, which means you can pull up your notes on your Windows-based PC. Notes can also be password locked, and if you are using an iPad that supports Touch ID, you can unlock the note with your fingerprint. And one of the coolest reasons to use Notes is the ability to use Siri. Simply tell Siri to "Take a Note" and she'll ask you what you want to say. Evernote Evernote is a cloud-based note-taking app that has a similar easy- to-use feel as the Notes app but with some really cool features The iPad Pro with a Smart Keyboard can be a perfect combination for taking added on top of it. Evernote includes all of the basic formatting notes. options you would expect. Who needs a paper and pencil when you have an iPad? One It also includes the ability to sketch out a note or attach a photo. reason why an iPad makes a great companion to a classroom or to a meeting is the versatility of typing in a quick note, jotting down a One really awesome addition is the ability to capture documents, handwritten note, adding a photo or sketching your own image. which is a very effective way to do a quick scan of a form or This makes it a great note-taking tool no matter if you are writing handwritten note. Similar to apps that act as a scanner, Evernote down equations on a chalkboard or simply creating a list of to-do will automatically focus, snap the photo and crop the picture so items for a project. that only the document is showing. But if you are going to get serious about note taking, you are going Evernote also allows you to attach voice memos, and (of course), to need some apps. you can access all of your documents from any device that can connect to the web. But what really puts Evernote over the top when using it on your iPad is the ability to enhance the iPad's features. Evernote can attach to your calendar so that you can link 13 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016 a meeting with the notes you took at it. You can also use Evernote to your notes. This means you can link to more information about to leave yourself more advanced reminders than the Reminders a note, or take notes of a webpage. app that comes with the iPad is capable of creating. Notability also allows you to be more precise in annotating Penultimate and Paper pictures, shapes or webclips with handwritten notes. There is a magnify feature that allows you to write something in an expanded What if you need to go heavy on the handwritten notes? view and have it show up in a smaller area on the note, which is Penultimate may be the ultimate handwriting app on the iPad. It is really great if you are using your index finger instead of a stylus. made by Evernote, which means the notes you write with Penultimate will sync to your account and show up in the Evernote You can also save your notes to most popular cloud services like app. It also has a ton of formats, including graph paper, dotted Dropbox or Google Drive, or simply let iCloud sync your notes paper, preformatted to-do lists and shopping lists, and even a across your devices. hangman game. Penultimate can also search through your handwritten notes and recognize words, which is really cool. Handwriting to Text With Notes Plus Unfortunately, it won't convert that handwriting to text. One thing we haven't covered is converting your handwritten notes If you don't use Evernote, Paper combines some of the basic into digital text. This can either be a key feature for some people features of Evernote with a world-class sketching tool. Paper is at or a wasted feature for others, but if you are in the group where it its best when you are combining drawings with your handwritten is a key feature, you will want to skip Evernote and Notability and notes, and it really goes hand-in-hand with Apple's new Pencil shoot for Notes Plus. stylus. It includes the ability to type in notes and perform basic But don't think you are missing out on too much if you go this formatting, but this side of the app has less features than even the route. Notes Plus is a very good note-taking tool even if you don't built in Notes app. However, the mere fact that you can easily take into account the handwriting-to-text capabilities. It has a share your sketching to the Notes app from within Paper may built-in browser that allows you to search Google for images and make that moot. If you don't need all of the advanced features of then drag-and-drop them into your note, the ability to backup your Evernote and primarily need to sketch out your notes, Paper may notes to a cloud-based service like Dropbox and the ability to be the way to go. export your notes to PDF or various other formats. Notability If you don't need the handwriting-to-text feature, you may be better off with one of the free alternatives, but if you don't mind The coolest thing about most apps on this list is the price tag. spending a little bit of money and you think you might want the Most of them are free, at least for the basic features. Notability is ability to turn your scribbles into legible text, Notes Plus is a good the exception, but for good reason. It may be the best pure note- choice. taking app on the App Store. It doesn't have some of the task- related features of Evernote such as tying into your calendar, but if To Keyboard or Not To Keyboard your main concern is the ability to take advanced notes, Notability is your top choice. That is the question. And it is a very good question. The best part about the iPad is its portability, and pairing it with a keyboard can Do you want to add detailed information to your notes? Notability be like turning it into a laptop. But sometimes, turning your iPad will allow you to clip a webpage from a built-in browser and add it into a laptop can be a good thing. Whether or not to get a 14 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016 keyboard is personal decision and will depend on how fast you can type using the on-screen keyboard, but if you do go with a keyboard, you may want to go with Apple's Magic Keyboard, or if you have an iPad Pro, one of the new Smart Keyboards. Why? Mainly because these keyboards support many of the special shortcut keys that include command-c to copy and command-v paste. When combined with the virtual touchpad, it really is like turning the iPad into a laptop. If you do end up with a non-Apple keyboard, make sure it supports those special shortcut keys. Don't Forget About Voice Dictation! One thing that hasn't been mentioned is voice dictation and with good reason. The iPad is capable of performing voice dictation almost anywhere that the on-screen keyboard appears. There is a microphone button on the keyboard that turns on voice dictation mode, which means you can use your voice to take notes in almost any app, including most apps on this list. This is different from a voice memo, which actually leaves a sound file with your voice note in it. Voice dictation takes the words you speak and turns them into digital text. Learn more about the iPad's voice dictation feature.

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Natasha Stokes posted the following article to techlicious.com on You can print photos in several unusual sizes, including 4" x 4" January 25, 2016. tinyurl.com/haslhjd. © Techlicious LLC. She is a squares, 2" x 2" mini-squares and business-card-sized prints, as technology and lifestyle writer, covering new tech, internet issues well as standard formats including 4" x 6" and 8" x 10" prints and and their impact on everyday life. She used to edit gadget 20" x 30" posters (probably best for owners of uber-high- magazine Mobile Choice. megapixel phones like the iPhone 6s Plus or Samsung Galaxy S6). Send prints anywhere in the world. (Last-minute long-distance The Best Ways To Print Photos From Your present, anyone?) Smartphone The app makes it easy to order unique frames and displays, By Natasha Stokes including a reclaimed Santa Cruz block frame or multi-picture Printing a picture on your phone to a wireless printerOne of the wooden and concrete displays. best cameras is the one you have with you — and for most of us, Price: Free at Google Play and iTunes that camera is your smartphone. But unless you're meticulously sharing and backing up your photos online, most of them are Prints: $12 for 24 square prints; $15 for 24 4" x 6" prints; $10 for a probably languishing in your smartphone’s digital archives. set of nine photo strips (36 pictures); more prices at Social Print Studio Free your photos from the shackles of your smartphone with services and hardware that make it easy to print your photos Shipping: $6 by FedEx and DHL; $12 international shipping; free professionally (for shipping directly to you), on the go or at home. shipping for U.S. orders over $50 We’ve rounded up our favorite, easy ways to print photos from your smartphone. Speed: 3-10 working days Order professional prints with an app Editing capabilities: None aside from cropping or shifting pictures to fit inside the print size Most photo developers today print smartphone pictures. Apps such as Kicksend and Snapfish let you order prints for pickup at Best for: Interesting frames and unique prints (the mini-squares retailers such as Walgreens. Even more streamlined photo services and 4" x 4" squares are particularly cute for Instagram images) let you order prints from your smartphone for delivery to your FreePrints (Android / iOS / Windows Phone) home within a couple of days. Send photos from your smartphone to one of our favorite print services to get lab-quality prints without FreePrints is an offshoot of online photo printing shop Photo leaving the house or shelling out for your own printer. Affections, which perhaps explains why it can offer 1,000 free 4" x 6" prints per year. This streamlined app is an easy way to print PrintStudio photos from your phone camera as well as Facebook, Instagram, This sleek, intuitive app takes care of printing pictures as well as Dropbox, Flickr, Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive. One click photo books, greeting cards and other photo products from your from the home interface takes you to a photo selection page for phone camera or Instagram account. Ordering prints is a simple uploading and ordering prints, which can arrive as quickly as matter of choosing exactly the size of photo you want, from a set within two days. of photo strips to a 54-image poster, and then picking the best of your snaps. 16 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

You can order square prints for Instagram shots as well as 5" x 7", Price: $140 from Amazon 8" x 10" and larger prints at an additional cost. If you use an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, pay for orders instantly using Apple Pay. Prints: $17.68 for 20 sheets at Amazon Photos are printed on lab-quality paper from Kodak and Fujifilm, Speed: 16 seconds per print with an matte finish. Editing capabilities: Black-and-white or sepia filters in the Fujifilm Price: Free from Google Play, iTunes, and Windows Store app, templates for personalized text and greeting cards Prints: Free for 4" x 6" prints (up to 85 per month or 1,000 per Best for: Printing photos on the go year); from $0.49 each for 5" x 5" prints Print at Home with a desktop printer Shipping: $1.99 to $9.99; $1.00 more for two-day shipping; free shipping the first time you use the app Printing your photos at home can not only work out cheaper, but far more convenient. If you're looking for pro-quality home prints, Speed: Four to six days; two working days for express shipping dedicated photo printers can handle ultra-high resolutions and fine Editing capabilities: Minimal; cropping, black-and-white filter color detail, while standard models still offer decent picture quality at an affordable price. Best for: Low-cost, high-quality prints Canon Pixma iP8720 Print on the go with a portable smartphone printer Forget the four-cartridge ink system on your old home printer; the Pull out one of these printers during your next vacation and Pixma iP8720 sports a six-ink system including an individual grey instantly print anyone's smartphone photos for hard-copy ink for extra-fine color and gradation in black-and-white prints. It keepsakes. connects over Wi-Fi as well as Google Cloud Print and Apple AirPrint, making it easy for any device to link up and print. Fujifilm Instax Share SP-1 (Android and iOS) The printer uses an Android/iOS app to select photos from a This book-sized printer from the current king of instant cameras smartphone or tablet for batch printing. Print resolution goes as uses the same film and printing technology as the Fujifilm Instax high as 9600 dpi with photo sizes up to 13" x 19". Mini line. It connects via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to your smartphone, with an app for selecting and printing photos to a roll of instax mini Price: $299.99 from Canon film. Prints: From $7 for 100 sheets of 4" x 6" glossy paper; $113 for a The app lets you add black-and-white or sepia filters, as well as set of six ink cartridges (PDF) ($0.48 or less per print) templates for text and graphics and "Real Time" details such as dates, location, time and weather. Prints have that slight vintage Speed: About 35 seconds per smartphone photo, 1 minute or blur; if you're looking for fine detail, you may want to consider a more for larger prints desktop printer instead. Editing capabilities: None The SP-1 runs on flat-cell CR-2 batteries with a lifetime of about Best for: Professional-quality home photos 100 prints before the batteries need to be replaced. 17 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

HP Envy 5660 If you simply want to print photos for personalized cards or family albums, a multifunction inkjet printer like the Envy 5660 produces good clarity and color, especially with smaller prints. It can connect to any smartphone over Wi-Fi via the HP app, while Apple AirPrint support lets you print directly from iPhones without an app. Photos can be printed in sizes up to A4, with a dedicated paper tray for 4" x 6" prints. If you regularly print photos, buy the Envy 5660 with an HP Instant Ink subscription plan that gets you 50 prints per month for $2.99, with HP connecting to your printer to send new cartridges when you're running low. Price: $117.94 from Amazon Prints: From $5.99 for 100 sheets of 4" x 6" glossy paper; $85.30 for a set of high-yield ink cartridges (about $0.30 a print, $0.13 if you subscribe to Instant Ink) Speed: About 45 seconds per 4" x 6" photo Editing capabilities: None Best for: Affordable home photo printing

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Melissa Holt posted the following article to macobserver.com on N Then to change this on the iPhone or iPad, visit Settings > General April 20, 2016. tinyurl.com/zgay637. © The Mac Observer, Inc. She > About. You can edit your device’s name at the very top (and is an Apple Consultant who lives and works along the Front Range while you’re there, you can also see all sorts of stats about what’s in Colorado. taking up your space!). How To Change Your Apple Device Names (And Why You May Need To!) By Melissa Holt If your phone has decided to call itself “iPhone” instead of “[Name]’s iPhone,” that doesn’t really seem like a problem, right? And it isn’t—until you can’t find it and you’re having to shuffle through approximately 30 poorly named devices on the Find My iPhone app or on iCloud.com to try to find its location. Anyway, once you update that info, iCloud.com (and the Find My iPhone app) should reflect the change within a few minutes.

Yuck. Let’s make that better! On the Mac, the place you’ll change that setting is within System Preferences > Sharing.

Ah, that’s much better! I mean, I don’t have a ton of devices myself, but I have seen families with ten or fifteen items clogging At the top of that pane, there’s a box for you to type in. up this list. Trying to discern which one was missing if they all had generic names would be…less than ideal. Let’s put it that way.

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The following article was posted to osxdaily.com on Apr 14, 2016. 1. Open the Settings app and go to “Phone” tinyurl.com/gprwvce. © OSX Daily. Try the site. Lots of tips and 2. Tap on “Wi-Fi Calling” and toggle the switch for good info. “Wi-Fi Calling on This iPhone” to enable the feature How To Enable Wi-Fi Calling On iPhone 3. Read the confirmation dialog and tap on ‘Enable” to enable wi-fi calling, you’ll then be brought to a few pages of terms and conditions and important details* about the wi-fi calling feature dependent on your cellular provider, agree to the terms to continue enabling the feature.

Most major cellular carrier networks support a feature known as Wi-Fi Calling, and now you can enable wi-fi calling on the iPhone as well. For the unfamiliar, Wi-Fi calling essentially uses an available wireless network for phone calls to improve the connection quality, rather than relying entirely on the cellular network. The result is generally cleaner and crisper sounding call quality, similar to the difference audibly observed through other Voice Over IP services like Skype and FaceTime Audio.

Another significant perk to wi-fi calling is that you’ll be able to make and receive phone calls even if your iPhone is in an area where you otherwise wouldn’t have cellular service, assuming the area or region does have wi-fi. This is a really common scenario in Once enabled the Wi-Fi calling button will be green. many cities and buildings, and this is really where wi-fi calling is at its best. Wi-Fi calling is available now on most new iPhone models with most cellular carriers, though some devices may need to be running the latest version of iOS to have access to the feature. Enabling Wi-Fi Calling on iPhone Assuming your iPhone and cellular provider supports wi-fi calling, here’s how to enable this feature:

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You’ll want to be sure to review the emergency information, As mentioned before, wi-fi calling is really most helpful if your because if you were to dial emergency services from a location cellular connection service is poor, but you have a wi-fi network to with wi-fi calling, it’s the information that is relayed to the connect to. This can help to eliminate the no-signal zones that are responder. This is important and not something to overlook or often found in office buildings and parts of a town where some ignore, and also shows the potential downside to the wi-fi calling obstruction blocks a clear cellular signal. feature, since the set address doesn’t change with your location, whereas a typical cellular signal can be triangulated for a general * All cellular providers will relay some important information to the idea. If you decide this is not appropriate for your situation, you user when enabling wi-fi calling. Perhaps the most important can always turn wi-fi calling back off again. element pertains to emergency services and the requirement of setting an emergency address. For AT&T, the entire notification Once Wi-Fi Calling is active and you join a wi-fi network with the for enabling wi-fi calling is as follows: iPhone, you should see the cellular carrier data change in the upper left corner of iPhone to demonstrate the feature has been Editor - ATT notification omitted enabled and is active. This looks like AT&T Wi-Fi, Sprint Wi-Fi, Other cellular providers will have a similar notification, be sure to Verizon Wi-Fi, T-Mobile Wi-Fi, and so on (for those who may be read and understand the limitations and details before using the wondering, the numbers next to the carrier name are the cellular wi-fi calling service on any network. signal strength as shown from Field Test Mode, which can replace the usual signal dot indicators if you’d like).

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Daniel Nations updated the following article to about.com on Talkatone & Google Voice August 25, 2015. tinyurl.com/mbr2nxd. © About.com. He has been writing, programming and following technology since back in the FaceTime and Skype are great, both offering the advantage of Commodore Vic 20 days. placing video calls, but what about placing a free call to anyone in the U.S. regardless of whether or not they use a specific service? How To Use Your iPad As A Phone FaceTime only works with other FaceTime users, and while Skype 3 Ways to Place Calls on Your iPad can place a call to anyone, it is only free to other Skype users. Talkatone in conjunction with Google Voice has a way of placing By Daniel Nations free voice calls to anyone in the U.S., though it is a little more Did you know the iPad can be used to place phone calls? It might confusing to set up. be a little big to consider even the iPad Mini as a replacement for your cell phone, but then again, with smartphones getting bigger Google Voice is a Google service designed around giving you one and bigger, perhaps the iPad Mini is really where we are headed. phone number for all of your phones. But voice calls placed with So how do you use the iPad to place phone calls? There are a Google Voice use your voice line, and you can't do that on an iPad number of apps designed around implementing Voice-over-IP for obvious reasons. Talkatone extends the Google Voice service (VoIP), which is a fancy way of saying "Internet Phone Call". I'll by allowing calls over the data line, which means you can use it detail three ways to place calls in this article. with your iPad. You'll need both the Talkatone app and the Google Voice app. FaceTime You'll also need to follow these instructions from Talkatone in order No doubt, the easiest way to place a phone call is using the video to set up your Google Voice account to place calls from your iPad. conferencing software that comes with the iPad. FaceTime uses As a bonus, Talkatone can also interact with your Facebook your Apple ID to place phone calls to anyone who also has an friends. More » Apple ID, which is anyone who owns an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Mac computer. These calls are free, so even if you are using Bonus: How to Text on the iPad your iPhone, you won't be using your minutes. You can even Let's face it, sometime we dread making certain phone calls. So if receive calls on FaceTime by having people 'dial' the email you really want to turn your iPad into a giant phone, you need to address associated with your Apple ID. know how to text on it! Find out how to use FaceTime on the iPad More » Skype Skype is the most popular way to place Internet calls, and unlike FaceTime, it isn't restricted to people using an iOS device. Skype on the iPad is a relatively simple process, though you will need to download the Skype app. Unlike FaceTime, there are fees involved with placing calls through Skype, but Skype-to-Skype calls are free, so you'll only pay for calling people who do not use Skype. More » 22 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

Brian Heater posted the following article to pcmag.com on April Simone dropped everything the following morning and made a 13, 2016. © Ziff Davis, LLC. He has written for a number tech beeline to the nearest bitcoin ATM. "I had a full-time job and a pubs, including Engadget, Laptop, and PCMag (where he served toddler at home," she explains. "I had a busy morning, but I as Senior Editor). canceled everything and got a sitter. I ran over to Greenpoint The Growing Threat Of Ransomware where this bitcoin ATM was located in a shared workspace building. The ATM didn't work and it gave me the spinny wheel. Ransomware can hit anyone, but hackers are increasingly going We were freaked out by the virus, but bitcoin gave it this extra level after targets that are more willing to pay up. of terror. It just freezes your brain — it's just another thing to figure By Brian Heater out." It's been a strange few years for the Alina Simone. In 2011, she The story has a happy ending — at least so far as those things go. released her fourth full-length record to critical acclaim, followed "She didn't make the deadline, and they were going to charge her by a book of essays and a debut novel, all while maintaining a double the ransom [but] she pleaded with them and they let her journalism career and raising a young daughter. But it's likely a go," Simone says. Mom got her files, the hackers got their money, 2015 opinion piece for The New York Times that garnered the most and everyone who read the story in The New York Times learned recognition for the Brooklyn-based artist. "My gravestone will say, about the phenomenon of ransomware, a strange, steadily growing 'her mom got hacked,'" she says with a laugh. form of malware that effectively holds a user's computer files at Published in January of that year, How My Mom Got Hacked electronic gunpoint. earned Simone a deluge of media appearances, from primetime An Eye on High-Profile Targets news programs to an episode of the popular public radio program Simone's mother is not the only victim, of course. In a piece Radiolab. The story details her mother Inna's struggle with a published late last year in Info Security Magazine, G Data Software mysterious form of malware and the strange and surprisingly Security Evangelist Andrew Hayter posited that 2016 will be "the cloak-and-dagger story that unfolded in its wake. year of ransomware," a sentiment echoed by similarly titled pieces "My mom called me one night, and she was ranting about needing subsequently published by big media outlets like the Los Angeles to pay a ransom," she tells PCMag. "I had my laptop open but was Times and security firms like Symantec. also watching TV and half listening. I thought it was a typical mom Thus far, 2016 has brought with it increasingly high-profile rant about her hardware crashing [and] having to pay the repair examples, including, most notably, the case of Hollywood people $500 because her computer crashed. I thought she was Presbyterian Medical Center, a 434-bed hospital whose talking in air quotes. She kept saying, 'No, Alina, listen. I mean network effectively ground to a halt after hackers breached ransom.'" the system in early February. After relying on pen and paper By the time Simone got the call, there was less than 24 hours to hit records briefly, Hollywood Presbyterian paid the 40 the deadline. Her mother had attempted to withdraw the full bitcoin ($17,000) ransom to regain control of its network. amount of ransom, but a combination of the Thanksgiving holiday, [Editor bolding] the weekend, a snowstorm, and the highly volatile value of bitcoin had caused her payment to fall $25 short. A failure to pay would More recently, MedStar Health and a hospital in Kentucky were hit cause the $500 ransom to double. with similar attacks, and the targeting of such larger institutions appears to be part of a growing movement. 23 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

"We're absolutely seeing that trend," explains Grayson Milbourne, even the Federal Bureau of Investigation has essentially thrown up Security Intelligence Director for Internet security firm Webroot. its hands in defeat. "It's true that there's an increase in focus on attacking corporate "The ransomware is that good," Joseph Bonavolonta, the entities. Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's CYBER and "The value of my personal files and pictures caps off somewhere. Counterintelligence Program told Boston's Cyber Security Summit But [if] I encrypt the back-end of your corporate system and in October. "To be honest, we often advise people just to pay the prevent you from processing payments, that has a tremendous ransom." value. And if the hacker can recognize the value of what he has, The FBI declined a follow-up request, telling us that Bonavolonta the ransom can be more dynamically set based on the content of was "unavailable," and instead offered up the following decidedly the data." more noncommittal statement: "The FBI works closely with the G Data's Hayter concurs, but while hackers have been planning private sector so that companies may make informed decisions in large-scale attacks for some time, "public companies never could response to malware attacks. Companies can prevent and mitigate admit that they had malware because it would hurt their stock," he malware infection by utilizing appropriate back-up and malware says. "They kept security quiet. I think they've been hit all along, detection and prevention systems, and training employees to be but they just don't talk about it." skeptical of emails, attachments, and websites they don't recognize." What does seem certain is that payments like the one issued by Hollywood Presbyterian add fuel to the fire. The damage, however, was already done — at least as far as the security community was concerned. The Moral Quandary of Ransomware Among the many ways ransomware is unique is in the moral "I think that the FBI has not helped the situation at all by coming quandary it presents its users. Thus far the malware's encryption out and saying that people should pay the ransom," says Hayter. has proven largely bulletproof, meaning that, once infected, the "To me, that goes against everything we know about dealing with end-user has one of two options: either pay the ransom — thereby malware, bad guys, and cyber crime. You don't want to keep funding the activities of the criminals who hacked into their system funding them, and that's what paying the ransom does. And they — or lose the files forever. keep putting more funding into development, which seems to be what they're doing right now." "At first I was really shocked that my mom wanted to pay it," explains Simone. "I told her not to. [I told her] 'you're funding these Webroot's Milbourne concurs. "They set a precedent of that being people. You might be funding terrorists. It's morally wrong, your the only option." Small scale individual user payments of $200- files don't matter that much.' She said, 'they do to me. I've done $300 have already funded hackers to the tune of hundreds of my research and it's the only way to get it back.'" millions of dollars, though he acknowledges that in real life, things are rarely so black and white. Inna Simone was not alone in her decision. In the majority of cases, all is essentially lost once ransomware takes hold. A month "It's a personal decision," explains Milbourne. "[Webroot's] stance after Simone paid the ransom, a police department in Tewksbury, is that we don't believe what the FBI has told people to do is the Massachusetts, made a $500 payment after enlisting the help of right approach. That said, the hospital has a business to run. If it the FBI. In fact, the encryption has proven so hard to crack that means people's lives, $17,000 is a reasonable price to pay to get 24 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016 your business back online. Does that mean it's a good precedent Protect Yourself to be setting? No." Like much of the malware out there, ransomware finds its way onto systems through untrusted sites and attachments. So the Easier Said Than Done major tenants of avoiding an infection are similar to those for It's easy enough to pass judgment until one comes face to face avoiding malware in general: install security software, keep your with ransomware boldly announcing its presence. "Your files are operating system and applications up to date, and don't visit any encrypted," boasted the Cryptowall 2.0 lock screen that greeted suspicious sites or open email attachments from unknown Inna Simone, adding—in that fake-helpful ransomware way—that sources. the "special software" CryptoWall Decrypter could be purchased for a limited time offer of 500 USD/EUR. All of that was ominously Hayter recommends getting rid of potential malware gateways like underscored by a clock counting down the seconds until the Flash and Silverlight, while OpenDNS Security Analyst Kevin ransom doubled. Bottomley suggests installing an ad blocker and NoScript browser add-ons, as online advertisements become an increasingly popular If there is an upside to the ransomware phenomenon, it is vector for the spread of malicious malware. consumer awareness. And every party can agree that the best way to manage malware is to simply avoid getting hit in the first place. Some websites use ad services "that generate revenue through attracting ad distributors, and they provide a lot of flexibility to Ransomware comes from a growing number of sources, largely those distributors with respect to how they code their ads to through Internet connections, with a smaller percentage arriving display on pages," says Milbourne. "It'll open in the background, through physical vectors like USB sticks. In most cases, however, the user has no idea." the real breakdown occurs at a similar point of vulnerability: humans. This type of scenario recently hit a number of mainstream sites run by some of the most prominent names in publishing, from The The same month the Hollywood hospital was hit, Baltimore-based New York Times to AOL, potentially exposing tens of thousands of firm Independent Security Evaluators issued the eerily prescient users to ransomware in the U.S. alone within a 24-hour time results of a two-year study involving a dozen healthcare facilities. period. In one scenario, researchers dropped 18 USB sticks loaded with simulated malware across various floors of a hospital. Within 24 Equally disturbing is the speed with which ransomware is capable hours, one unsuspecting user plugged one of the sticks in the of spreading once a system has been compromised. According to system, requesting malware from ISE's servers. This was just a Bottomley's research, "it's usually [a] sub-three-minute infection to test, thankfully, but the scenario highlights the inevitable fact that a encryption time." By the time you're finished grabbing a cup of computer's security system is only as effective as the person using coffee, ransomware has already had more than sufficient time to it. do its thing. And as it's evolved, ransomware has become increasingly effective at propagating across a network. "There's still terrible USB hygiene around the world with people still using XP service pack one," says Milbourne. "There are a lot The newly identified ransomware Locky, for example, has vulnerable systems. But primarily [ransomware proliferates] discovered how to identify and gain access to unmapped network through web exploit kits and direct email campaigns that trick shares. "You want to disconnect that endpoint from the network people into being dumb and infecting themselves." and limit any potential spread," says Milbourne. "And then it comes down to what got hit and what's infected. In a lot of cases, 25 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016 it's just an end-user. When we start to see problems is when these customer service. Simone's mother, for example, was able to things propagate and start to hit resource servers and things that negotiate with the ransom seekers, who agreed to accept the final really impact the flow of business." $25 a little after the deadline without doubling the ransom. As ransomware becomes more sophisticated, the likelihood People "won't pay the ransom if they think they're f**ked anyway," increases that even the most thoughtful users are at risk of getting Simone says. "It's e-commerce. They've taken all of the lessons of hit, highlighting the importance of backing up files online and off. e-commerce from legitimate businesses and applied it to Restoring those files is admittedly inconvenient, but ransom ransomware." seekers don't hold much sway when you've got unencrypted As McAfee notes, hackers have also developed custom malware copies as a backup. It might sound like overkill, but ransomware is solutions built to spec for potential ransomers — a sort of black- "becoming more and more prolific," says Hayter. market version of Squarespace, if you will. Humble Beginnings "You pay a certain amount," explains Hayter, "you get the The phenomenon has been around in some form other at least ransomware, you customize it to yourself, you direct the payments since the late 80s, when the AIDS trojan demanded users send where to want to direct them, you get 24/7 customer support for $189 to a Panamanian post office box, lest their "conscience may your ransomware product." haunt [them] for the rest of [their] life...and [their PC would] will stop functioning normally." Things have grown exponentially since Part of the malware's business expansion model has involved the those early shady days of the PC Cyborg Corporation. In a report targeting of new platforms. Once largely the realm of Windows issued late last year, McAfee found a huge jump of late, from PCs, security analysts have been aware of the presence of Android 257,357 new ransomware samples in the first half of 2014, to variants for a number of years. This March also marked the first 380,652 in the second half. By the first half of 2015, that number known instance of a ransomware attack on Mac users, as jumped 5.3 times to over 2 million. KeRanger demanded users pay one bitcoin ($400) to rescue files locked down after the installation of BitTorrent software, The security company added that the rapid growth is likely to Transmission. continue, due in no small part to the relatively new trend of "Ransomware-as-a-service." Between the hundreds of millions of "It's a sign that the criminals are seeing that there is some value in dollars extorted from smaller targets and the increasing focus on making Mac malware," explains Hayter. "In the past, the Mac just corporations and institutions, ransomware has proven to be an wasn't an attractive target because there wasn't the profit margin extremely lucrative business model — and one with decidedly less there. Now that [hackers] got through once, I think Apple is going risk of bodily harm and capture than more traditional crime. to do a better job protecting the walled garden." "Cyber criminals have figured out that they can make money more Apple was able to quickly address the issue by revoking the easily than with drug deals," says Hayter. "They're turning to software's app development certificate and updating its malware cybercrime for their income. And then they can use that income to protection, but it's hard not to see this first breach as a sign of do more development and get into other forms of crime — or just more ominous things to come. make more money and buy more Ferraris." But for all their concerns, the security experts we spoke with are A perhaps unexpected turn in the ransomware game is that hopeful. "In the 40 years that malware has been around, we've hackers are adopting some traditional business tactics, like found ways to defeat families of malware," says Hayter. "Catching 26 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016 up with the bad guys has always been the problem. They always seem to be one step ahead. But I think there's hope on the way in a very short amount of time. The anti-malware industry cannot wait. This is a rush job. This is an emergency."

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MLMUG April 9, 2016 Meeting Minutes By Mark Bazrod, Secretary Maria Arguello, our President, opened the MLMUG meeting at 9:15 AM at the Ludington Library in Bryn Mawr. There were about 50 members at the meeting. Main Presentation

Mike Inskeep, one of our members and owner of Gentle Computer Helpers, an independent Apple computer consultant who has been supporting Apple products since 1988, gave a superb presentation entitled “Secure Your iPhone & iPad”. His 88 slides will be posted on the Meetings page of our website.

Security is the means (hardware, software or human) to delay or reduce the risk of the loss of data, access to services or ability to Updates. Always update iOS immediately. It fixes bugs and use our iDevice due to internal defects or external dangers. We addresses security vulnerabilities. Last update fixed and made need to change the ways we ordinarily do things and be alert for public 49 vulnerabilities. Then hackers knew to attack iDevices specific threats when they are most likely. which were not updated. Mike immediately backs up his iDevices and downloads the update. New versions of the operating system Apple’s authoritative security guide is available at www.apple.com/ are more secure than older versions. business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf. A recent study showed experts and non-experts relied on different actions to stay safe online. Experts favored updating their Physical security. Get a good case, keep the device away from systems, unique passwords, strong passwords,and 2-factor liquids, keep possession of the device, shut it down if you can’t authentication. Non-experts favored antivirus, strong passwords, keep possession, and keep it in the same place when not being visit only known sites, and change passwords. 85% of experts used. For comprehensive reviews of iDevice cases go to upgrade their OS within a day of release. Mike recommends www.mobilereviews-eh.ca/. putting Settings and App Store icons on Home Screen.

Passcode. This is essential. Write it down, store it in your Backup. You should always backup your iDevices. You can back password manager, and give to executor. Use at least 6 random up to iCloud via Wi-Fi when connected to power. You can also characters, altho I’m not sure how to use more than 6 characters backup to your Mac through iTunes. See support.apple.com/en- Also use TouchID. You can have touches for 5 fingers. Use 3rd or us/HT203977. 4th finger of hand you don’t usually use to tap icons. You still need to enter passcode when the iDevice is turned on or restarted.

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App reviews. Read app reviews before you buy. Look in MacWorld, Mac|Life, CNet, Lifehacker, PC Magazine, etc. Once Rescue email address is a second email address linked to Apple you install an app, inspect its settings. Go to Settings > Privacy > ID. It is used to reset your security questions if your forget or lose Location Services, Settings > Privacy > Each built-in app, and the answers. Settings > [new app name]. Keep apps up-to-date and delete unused apps. iCloud is very secure. It has never been hacked. Dropbox was hacked twice and some individual accounts have been hacked. Password for sites. Have a unique passwords for each site, about 12 characters long. Keep security question answers long - about Links in Email. When clicking on a link in email from Apple or 26 characters - and unrelated to the question. At a minimum, others, tap and hold lightly until the Open pop-up menu appears. record the password in a book, but that could be lost or stolen, Make sure that address is a valid one. Very important. easily read by others and there is no backup. Better security is to use a password manager such as 1Password. It can generate Be Skeptical of Email Attachments. If not requested or random passwords, enter passwords automatically, and can’t be expected, compose a new message to the sender asking if they used without a master password. Buy from Mac App Store or Mac sent it. Do not use reply. Store. so it syncs through iCloud. Monitor URL Bar. Tap and hold lightly until the full address Use Diceware to create a strong password. The URL on the slides appears. Make sure the address shown matches your intended takes you to Mike’s site, not Diceware’s. For the procedure without destination. A padlock indicates a secure connection. Only sign in using dice, go to entima.net/diceware/. Use Diceware to pick long, and make purchases when the padlock is displayed: random passwords as answers. 2-Factor authentication (2FA). It links a trusted device (iPhone, Apple ID. Provides automatic backup to iCloud, automatically iPad, Mac) to your Apple ID. When you sign in for the first time syncs Contacts, Calendars, Photos, Notes and Reminders to from a new device, you must enter your password and the 6-digit iDevices and iCloud account, and can use Find My iPhone. code sent to the trusted device. Even if someone gets your password, they can’t take over your Apple ID. This procedure Your Apple account is verified with Apple ID (a valid email replaces security questions. address), password, birthday, security questions, and Rescue email address. So create an email account that you use only for To get more info and instructions from Apple go to: your Apple ID. Nothing else! Turn on email forwarding from that support.apple.com/en-us/HT204915. To find out who supports account to your main email account. It means others will not know 2FA, go to: twofactorauth.org/. your Apple ID.

Apple requires that the Apple ID password have at least 8 Mike recommends that before you handover your iPhone or iPad characters, at least 1 upper case, at least 1 lower case, and at for repair or resale, you should back it up (to recover data) and least 1 number. You should make it longer and random with erase all content and setting by going to Settings > General > embedded words. Reset > Erase all content and settings. 29 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

Apple Pay. iOS makes you MORE secure! Enter credit card in Don’t jailbreak . It removes security restrictions. Wallet app, check for Wireless Pay or  Pay, hold iPhone near terminal, and place finger for Touch ID. Wireless Networks. Turn off Wi-Fi when you leave a trusted location. If you access public Wi-Fi, use a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN encrypts your communications, verifies the identity of your host, and cloaks your location. Two highly recommended VPNs are Private Internet Access and Private Tunnel.

Disable personal hotspot in public: Settings > Personal Hotspot. Phone and driving. A University of Utah study indicated you Remember, public Wi-Fi is not secure. The WiFi Pineapple device should not phone while driving. Hands-free “cell-phone drivers can insert itself between your device and the site you want to visit exhibited greater impairment than intoxicated drivers.” Set up and illegally capture all the traffic. driving directions before you start. Let calls go to voicemail or Mike recommends against using iCloud Keychain. The interface is passenger. Pull over before accessing your phone. difficult and is not secure in certain circumstances. Conclusion. Mike’s presentation was very impressive and I Mike turns off wireless before he puts his Mac to sleep. recommend that everyone go to the MLMUG website, download his presentation, and then take a number of corrective actions. I Settings for Safari for browsing. know that I certainly will do so. General • Passwords, Autofill off; Block Pop-ups on The meeting ended at noon. Privacy & Security • Do not track, Fraudulent website warn on Mark Bazrod • Allow cookies from current website Secretary Then before each browsing session: Advanced • Javascript off (unless needed for site) • Remove All Website Data (before session) .

1Blocker. 1Blocker for Safari blocks malware, malicious content delivered via ads. It provides privacy from tracking scripts and reduces data downloaded so pages load faster and battery lasts longer. 1blocker.com. Looks great to me.

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Tom Nelson updated the following article on about.com on May 03, Using a block copy is faster, but it does have some limits that 2016. tinyurl.com/zrbb2h7. © About.com. He is a consultant and affect when it can be used, the most important being that copying writer providing Macintosh training, advice, and support. He has block by block requires that both the source and destination written hundreds of articles, tutorials, and product reviews. devices be first unmounted from your Mac. Use Disk Utility To Clone A Mac's Drive This ensures that block data doesn't change during the copy Even With the Changes in Disk Utility, You Can Still Clone a Drive process. Don’t worry, though; you don’t have to do the unmounting. Disk Utility’s Restore function takes care of that for By Tom Nelson you. But it does mean that neither the source nor the destination OS X El Capitan changed the process for using Disk Utility to clone can be in use when you use the Restore capabilities. a Mac’s drive. While it's still possible to create an exact copy (a clone) of any drive connected directly to your Mac, the changes The practical limitation is that you can’t use the Restore function made to Disk Utility means there are extra steps involved if you on the current startup drive, or any drive that has files in use. If you wish to use Disk Utility’s Restore function to clone your startup need to clone your startup drive, you can make use of either your drive. Mac's Recovery HD volume, or any drive that has a bootable copy of OS X installed. We'll provide information about how to use the Disk Utility’s Copy Function Recovery HD Volume to clone your startup drive, but first, we'll look at the steps in cloning a non-startup drive attached to your Disk Utility has always been able to create clones, although the Mac. app refers to the process as Restore, as in restoring data from a source drive to a target drive. Restore a Non-Startup Volume To be clear, the restore function isn't limited to drives; it will Launch Disk Utility, located at /Applications/Utilities.The Disk actually work with just about any storage device that can be Utility app will open, displaying a single window divided into three mounted by your Mac, including disk images, hard drives, SSDs, spaces: a toolbar, a sidebar showing currently mounted drives and and USB flash drives. volumes, and an info pane, showing information about the currently selected device in the sidebar.In the sidebar, select the How Restore Works volume to which you want to copy/clone data. The volume you The Restore function in Disk Utility makes use of a block copy select will be the destination drive for the Restore operation.Select function that can speed up the copy process. Restore from Disk Utility’s Edit menu.A sheet will drop down, asking you to select from a drop-down menu the source device to It also makes an almost exact copy of the source device. When I use for the Restore process. The sheet will also warn you that the say "almost exact" I don't mean to imply that useful data may get volume you selected as the destination will be erased, and its data left behind, because that's not the case. What it means is that a will be replaced with data from the source volume.Use the drop- block copy copies everything in a data block from one device to down menu next to the "Restore from" text to select a source the other. The results are almost an exact copy of the original. A volume, and then click the Restore button.The Restore process will file copy, on the other hand, copies data file by file, and while the begin. A new drop-down sheet will display a status bar indicating file data remains the same, the location of the file on the source how far along in the Restore process you are. You can also see and destination devices will likely be very different. detailed information by clicking the Show Details disclosure 31 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016 triangle.Once the Restore process is complete, the drop-down sheet’s Done button will become available. Click Done to close the Restore sheet. Restore Using a Startup Drive When you use the Restore function, both the destination and the source must be able to be unmounted. This means you can’t be Cory Bohon posted the following article to engadget.com on booted to your normal startup drive. Instead, you can start your October 6, 2008. tinyurl.com/glxdcdz © AOL Inc. He is a freelance Mac from another volume that contains a bootable version of OS technology writer, indie Mac and iOS developer. X. This can be any volume attached to your Mac, including a USB flash drive, an external, or in the example we will use, the Take Screenshot And Copy To Clipboard Recovery HD volume. By Cory Bohon A complete step-by-step guide is available in Use the Recovery Are you obsessed with taking photos using HD Volume to Reinstall OS X or Troubleshoot Mac Problems. the built-in screenshot utility (or by pressing command + 3/4)? Chances are you might Once you've booted from the Recovery Volume and used the step- have a ton of files left over on your desktop by-step guide to launch Disk Utility, return here and use the after a long screenshot session. Restore a Non-Startup Volume guide, above, starting at step two. If you don't need the files piling up on your Why Use Disk Utility’s Restore Function? desktop and just want to paste a picture You may have noticed over the years that I've recommended somewhere, pressing Control + Command cloning apps, such as Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper, for + Shift + 3 for a full screenshot (or 4 for creating bootable clones as part of a backup system. cross hair selection tool). So, if I think cloning apps are better, why use Disk Utility instead? The screenshots will be copied to the clipboard where you can The reasons can be many, not the least of which are the simple paste them into a document. facts that Disk Utility is free, and included with every copy of OS X. EDITOR - A great tip. After the image is copied to the clipboard, And while the various cloning apps have a lot more features, if you you just paste it where you want without having to go to the don’t have access to the third-party apps, using Disk Utility will desktop and copy or drag the image to where you want. A big create a perfectly usable clone, although it may require a few more timesaver steps and lacks some nice features, such as automation and scheduling.

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Leo A. Notenboom updated the following article on askleo.com. • The presence of words or phrases that are most commonly tinyurl.com/huurvg6. Using computers since 1976 he “retired" in associated with spam such as the names of assorted drugs, 2001 after 18 years at Microsoft and started Ask Leo! in 2003 to sexual terms, and more. answer to common computer & technical questions. • The presence of links within the mail that go to known How Do I Get Rid Of All This Spam?!?! malicious or suspicious sites associated with spammers. Spam is getting worse; there's no question. What can you do • about it? There's no magic answer, but there are various things you The presence of links within HTML-formatted mail that mask can do to help. where they actually link. By Leo Notenboom • The presence of attachments or attachments scanned and found to contain malware. If it seems like the amount of spam you’re seeing has been getting worse, that’s only because it has. Spam in all its variants has only • Email from IP addresses associated with spammers. been increasing and attempts to legislate a solution appear to • Email from email addresses associated with spammers. have had little if any impact. • “Too much” email from a single source in too short a period So what’s a poor user to do? of time. (Not just to you, but perhaps to multiple recipients on The bottom line is that there is still no magic answer and no silver your email service.) bullet. There is no solution today that will guarantee you get only • And probably many, many more thing that I can’t think of. the email you want while at the same time guaranteeing that you will get all the email you want. There are many partial solutions that One problem is that no two spam filters use the same criteria, and have varying degrees of success, depending on your needs and no two will use all the criteria. Similarly, the importance of one your willingness to accept some of the restrictions or some criteria over others will change over time. It used to be that additional steps. targeting IP addresses was a good technique because spammers tended to use specific mail servers from which to send their spam. But all current solutions risk both of the unwanted alternatives: Now, of course, with the rise of “botnets” almost any computer on letting some spam through and preventing legitimate mail from the internet could be the source of spam and blocking IP reaching you. addresses becomes a futile technique. Spam filters Another problem, of course, is that Filters remain the most popular solutions across ISPs, email criteria often lead to bad results – services, and even email programs. sometimes filters get it wrong. It’s typical to continue to receive a Filters work by analyzing email prior to your seeing it and then reduced number of spam emails flagging or even deleting the email that it thinks is spam. even with filtering in place. Worse Characteristics used by filters to determine whether or not an is that filters will occasionally mark email is spam may include: as spam email that you truly w a n t e d . I n a b u s i n e s s 33 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016 situation, this is simply unacceptable. Another entry into the fight against spam is something called challenge/response. It’s available as a service from various I actually don’t have any formal recommendations for spam filters. companies and is now also sometimes offered or even required by Not because there aren’t good ones out there, but because they some ISPs. are very specific to either your email server or ISP or to your email client. You may already have several spam filters available to you: Challenge/response as its name implies is a challenge sent in response to email from an unknown source to prove that the • Your email service or ISP will in all likelihood already have one sender is human. If they respond and confirm that they are, a) they for you. Make sure that it’s enabled. are remembered and never have to see a challenge again, and b) • Your email program (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.) will also the mail they sent you is delivered. If they do not respond, then likely have one as well. Make sure that it, too, is enabled. you never see the email or have to take extra steps to check for it. • There are third-party programs like Mailwasher that you can The problem with challenge/response relates to any mailing list install that will also filter your email. you might sign up for, any online purchase that might result in sending you an email confirmation, or any legitimate organization My current solution is Gmail coupled with Thunderbird. All my that might send you valid yet automated email. This is email you email is routed through a Gmail account for spam filtering and then want. Yet senders to such lists do not have the time or the what’s left is filtered again by Thunderbird. resources to respond to a challenge for each of their recipients. Check your folders: any time you use a filter to remove spam, you Typically, they’ll simply ignore all challenges. The result: unless you must check your “spam” or “junk mail” folders. As I mentioned remember to proactively white-list them beforehand, then you above, filters are never 100% accurate and will occasionally mark won’t get the email you request. something as spam that is not. White and Black lists Multiple addresses Almost all of the solutions above also include the ability to Another common approach – even if you use filtering already – is “whitelist” or “blacklist” an email address. to have multiple email addresses. Whitelisting means that you’ve indicated that email from a • Select one email address to be your “private” guarded email particular address should never be flagged as spam or delayed in address – much like an unlisted phone number – that you any way. Blacklisting means just the opposite: email from a never, ever use in situations where the email address might particular address should always be flagged as spam and never be harvested for spam mailing lists. delivered to you. • Create additional “throw-away” email addresses that you use While whitelisting and blacklisting can be important additions to only for a limited time (say when registering a product) or for the anti-spam regimen – whitelisting is particularly important to a limited purpose (like registering for a website) and can prevent false-positive spam filtering of things like newsletters – safely ignore after those purposes have been met. they are far from perfect. Spammers have the ability to “spoof” the “From:” address in email, making it looks like it comes from Challenge/Response someone other than it really does – often even yourself.

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The bottom line Keeping track of all of the documents on your Mac can be a difficult task; remembering file names or file contents is even more As I said, there’s no magic bullet. Spam is here for the foreseeable difficult. And if you haven't accessed the document it's in recently, future. However, there are steps that you should take to reduce the you may not remember where you stored a particular piece of amount you get: valuable data. • Be protective of your email address. Don’t post it publicly Luckily, Apple provides Spotlight, a pretty fast search system for or it’ll get harvested and used by spammers. Share it only the Mac. Spotlight can search on file names, as well as the with people and businesses you trust. contents of files. • Learn the nuances of the spam filters available to you. It can also search on keywords or metadata associated with a file. • Learn how to whitelist email addresses in whatever email How do you create keywords for files? I'm glad you asked. program and perhaps with whatever email service you use. Keywords and Metadata • Enable both spam filtering by your provider and in your Many files on your Mac already contain quite a bit of metadata. For desktop email program if you use one. example, that photo you downloaded from your camera probably • Check your junk or spam folders regularly. contains a great deal of metadata about the image, including exposure, lens used, whether a flash was used, image size, and • Never mark as spam email that you have asked for. color space. • Don’t stress out – use the Delete key liberally and move If you would like to quickly see a photo's metadata, try the on. following. This will work best with a photo downloaded from your camera, or a photo that came from a friend’s camera. Pictures you find on the web may not contain much in the way of metadata, other than image size and color space. Tom Nelson updated the following article on about.com on November 20, 2015. tinyurl.com/gwt3u3c. © About.com. He is a Open a Finder window, and navigate to one of your favorite consultant and writer providing Macintosh training, advice, and photos.Right-click the image file, and select Get Info from the pop- support. He has written hundreds of articles, tutorials, and product up menu.In the Get Info window that opens, expand the More Info reviews. section.The EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) information (metadata) will be displayed. Find Files Faster Using Spotlight Keyword Searches Searchable keywords can include comments you add to a file The reason we went to the effort to show you the metadata that may be contained in some file types is to show you file information By Tom Nelson that Spotlight is able to search for. Use the Get Info window to add keywords to your documents. For instance, if you wish to find all of your photos taken with an F stop of 5.6, you could use a Spotlight search of fstop:5.6. 35 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

We'll delve further into Spotlight metadata later on, but first, a bit Names you enter into the Comments section aren't directly about keywords. searchable by Spotlight; instead, you need to precede them with the keyword 'comment.' For example: The metadata contained within a file aren't the only search keywords you can use. You can actually create your own keywords comment:project dark castle for any file on your Mac that you have read/write permission to access. This would cause Spotlight to search for any file that has a comment with the name 'project dark castle.' Note that the word Essentially, that means you can assign custom keywords to all of 'comment' is followed by a colon, and that there's no space your user files. between the colon and the keyword for which you wish to search. Adding Keyword to Files

Some file types already have keywords associated with them, as we demonstrated above, with an image's EXIF data. But most of the document files you use on a day-to-day basis probably don't have any associated searchable keywords that Spotlight can use. But it doesn’t have to stay that way; you can add keywords yourself to help you find a file later on, when you've long since forgotten commonly searched keywords, such as file title or date. A good example of the kind of keyword you may add to a file is a project name, so you can quickly find all of the files needed for a project you're working on. To add keywords to a file, follow this easy process. Use the Finder to locate the file to which you want to add keywords.Right-click the file, and select Get Info from the pop-up menu.In the Get Info window that opens, there's a section labeled Comments. In OS X Mountain Lion and earlier, the Comments section is right near the top of the Get Info window, and is labeled Spotlight Comments. In OS X Mavericks and later, the Comments section is around the middle of the Get Info window, and will likely need to be expanded by clicking on the disclosure triangle next to the word Comments. In the Comments or Spotlight Comments section, add your keywords, using commas to separate them.Close the Get Info window. Using Spotlight to Search for Comments

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The following article was posted to techradar.com on May 15, shows 'virtual' changes which you can undo at any time. Picasa is 2015. tinyurl.com/b9o4fgo. © Future plc. EDITOR - Windows only not really a Photoshop replacement, and its quirky interface takes program descriptions have been reduced. a little getting used to, but if you value speed and simplicity over Best Free Photo Editing Software: 10 Top Programs in-depth editing tools, it's brilliant. You Should Try See: Picasa website By TechRadar Adobe Photoshop has been the grand daddy of the imaging world for years and its blend of tools make photo retouching, image creation from scratch and straight-up image editing the complete package for keen amateur photographers and professionals. But although the cost of using Photoshop has come down, you have to pay a subscription for Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography Plan. Luckily, there are plenty of alternatives that won't cost you a cent, and while they might not rival Photoshop for outright power, they bring simplicity, speed, convenience or one- click effects that you just don't get with Photoshop. We start off with some of the more contemporary takes on digital imaging, but if you use Windows and you prefer a traditional, no- 2. Apple Photos frills image editor, you'll find those on our list too. Simpler and better than iPhoto, Photos is worth a proper look for 1. Picasa any Mac owner Fast and efficient photo organising tool with rather good non- Platforms: Mac, iOS destructive editing Mac users upgrading to OS X 10.10 Yosemite get a brand new free Platforms: Windows, Mac photo managing and editing app called, appropriately enough, Photos. It looks completely different from Apple's old iPhoto app – Easily overlooked, Picasa is Google's free desktop image in particular, the organizational tools are effective but take a little organizing and editing software. It connects to Picasa Web online getting used to. The good news is that the editing tools are much- albums, making it easy to share photos with others straight from improved. They look terrific and they're actually pretty powerful. your desktop, but you can also use it purely as a desktop What's more, your images and your adjustments are synced with application. Picasa can display all your photos in one place, linking your iOS devices via iCloud, and the Photos app on iOS is to any or all of the image folders on your computer via its Folder identical to the desktop version, just re-worked for the smaller Manager. You can create albums ('labels'), add keywords and screen. If you've got a Mac, then you should take a long, hard look apply a range of non-destructive image effects and adjustments – at Photos before you even consider any other free app. It's not in other words, Picasa doesn't modify the original photo, it just

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Photoshop, but it's simple on the surface and surprisingly sophisticated underneath. See: Apple Photos website

4. On1 Perfect Effects 9 Free 3. Fotor Powerful special effects tool that works as both a standalone app and a plug-in Multi-platform photo editing suite that delivers great effects really easily Platforms: Windows, Mac Platforms: Windows, Mac, Mobile (iOS & Android), Web The On1 Perfect Effects suite is rapidly becoming a serious competitor for Adobe's software, and this is one of its core Fotor is a free cross-platform photo editor that offers an amazing components, pulled out and offered as a free tool. Perfect Effects array of tools, adjustments and effects in a really easy to use 9 Free offers 170 one-click photo effects, and also offers Perfect interface. The effects are particularly impressive, and not just in Brush and Quick Mask tools for more advanced image terms of variety – you can simply click an effect to apply it, then manipulation. You can 'stack' effects using a layers palette on the use a slider to adjust the strength. Fotor is essentially a cloud- right side of the screen and use the layer masking tools to control based photo editor, but you can still use it as a desktop tool, how they're blended. You can use Perfect Effects Free as a opening images your computer, editing them and exporting new standalone program, but it also installs as a plug-in for Photoshop, versions. If you need a program that can open raw files, combine Lightroom and Aperture. It's not exactly for beginners, but as a images in layers and organize a growing photo library, then you'll tool for more advanced photographers who want to experiment need to look elsewhere – and you probably won't find a single free with more advanced image effects, it's perfect. app that can do all of these things – but if you want a fast, powerful and fun way to pimp your photos, then Fotor is perfect. See: Perfect Effects 9 Free website See: Fotor website

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that are up to the same standard. The one annoying thing about the Pixlr browser version are the ads you have to put up with on the right hand side of the window that limit the space you have to edit photos. See: Pixlr website

5. Serif PhotoPlus Starter Edition Cut-down free version of Serif's powerful amateur-orientated photo editing software Platforms: Windows See: Serif PhotoPlus Starter Edition website 7. GIMP 6. Pixlr Editor Open-source image-editor that's powerful but technical, so it A photo editor you can use on your desktop machine, your requires some effort mobile device or the web Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux Platforms: Windows, Mac, Mobile, Web What you get with GIMP is an extremely powerful program that Pixlr Editor operates straight out of your browser or as desktop or does anything you'd expect from a powerful image editing app mobile (iOS and Android) apps and is perfect for editing images on without costing a penny. Need to sharpen up those photos from a machine that doesn't have a great deal of space such as a your vacation? Perhaps you need to crop out the ex from your Chromebook or similar. You can create a completely blank canvas, Facebook profile pic and turn it into black-and-white? GIMP can open an image from a computer or specify an online location do all that and even more.What GIMP doesn't offer, however, is a where the photo you want to edit can be found. It's impressive particularly intuitive interface and it's handy to have a guide at how many tools Pixlr Editor has to offer with a huge range of filters hand in order to get the best out of it. It does help that the editing to change the look of the image, a sidebar chocked full of all the options on the left hand side are represented by icons and a tools you've come to recognise in Photoshop, and layering options description comes up when you hover over each one, giving even

39 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016 more information on the chosen tool. There are even more options capture, RAW-to-JPG, batch editor, image splitter, renaming tool to be had in the file menus above the image and if there's a free and colour picker. It's now available in a free Mac OS X version, photo editor out there that offers more tools than GIMP we've yet too, (with in-app purchases) via the Mac App Store, with a very to find it. different contemporary look – this is the version in our screenshot. See: GIMP website See: PhotoScape for Windows, PhotoScape for Mac

8. PhotoScape Novel all-purpose image-editing favorite now available in a Mac 9. IrfanView OS X version Handy app for browsing images, converting file formats, getting screen grabs and more Platforms: Windows, Mac Platforms: Windows On Windows, PhotoScape sets everything out in a circle that shows the main features of the program and hovering over each See: IrfanView website option gives a helpful explanation of what it does. The editing tab is where most of the action takes place through a variety of 10. Paint.net options that ranges from adding new effects or changing the way it This new version of an old Windows classic is uncomplicated looks to cutting it down to size or adjusting the brightness. It's just and straightforward as easy to group images together using the 'page' or 'combine' Platforms: Windows tab and the experience lets you create perfect social media posts in just seconds. Another nifty feature is a dedicated tab to create See: Paint.net website GIFs from a group of images and further tools include screen 40 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

Josh Noreem posted the following article to computershopper.com The only downside to this explosion of SSDs is that, for the on April 13, 2016. tinyurl.com/haaog5b. © Ziff Davis, LLC. He is a average consumer, the choices can be overwhelming, especially Contributing Editor at Computershopper. His experience includes when it comes to budget SSDs. Since the vast majority of SSDs stints on staff as an editor at Computer Shopper and Maximum PC. on the market all use the same interface, dubbed SATA 3 (for Serial ATA 3.0), and many even use the same components from a handful 2 0 1 6 G u i d e : T h e B e s t B u d g e t S S D s - of suppliers (Toshiba, Micron/Crucial, and Samsung are the Computershopper.Com primary makers of flash-memory modules), there’s generally not a Price wars by the makers of solid-state drives benefit you! Here's huge chasm in performance between different models. That makes how to shop for a new budget SSD, with our favorite picks price something that consumers have been extremely sensitive reviewed. about (us reviewers and editors, too). By Josh Norem Because performance is usually so similar between budget-priced We all know that technology moves quickly—but nowhere in the SATA-based drives, you often aren't faced with many substantial PC-component market has that been more evident in recent years reasons to pay extra for one model over the another. This has than among solid-state drives (SSDs). caused the market to experience what’s commonly referred to as a "race to the bottom," in which manufacturers scramble to bring We can’t say with certainty that SSDs are the fastest-growing class drives to market to meet exploding demand, while competing of PC parts, but it certainly feels like it. Well more than a dozen primarily on price. And pricing, particularly online, can shift well-known drive makers are churning out models at a rapid clip, substantively from one day to the next—or even from hour to hour. so plenty of people are buying SSDs, and plenty of PC manufacturers are working them into their systems. Crucial BX200 In just the span of a few years, SSDs have transitioned from an But fear not, gentle reader—though the choices might seem exorbitantly priced luxury option for well-heeled PC aficionados, bewildering, we are here to break it all down. In this guide, we’ll into a commodity item where quality is generally high, and prices discuss the features you want to examine when shopping for a are insanely low—at least compared to where they used to be. For budget SSD, and map out a listing of the 10 best affordable SSDs example, a 32GB SSD model that we reviewed in 2008 sold for a (with full, deep-dive reviews) to make your shopping easier. whopping $800 at the time! That’s roughly $200 more than you’d Buying Basics: Budget SSDs pay today for a top-end Samsung SSD 850 EVO $749.99 at Dell drive that packs more than 60 times that much storage. (That Let's assume you're a buyer with basic needs, looking to upgrade would be 2 terabytes.) And the Samsung drive is very roughly five a traditional platter hard drive in a laptop or desktop with times faster than that drive from 2008. something faster. It’s a fairly safe strategy, these days, to check pricing on recent models and pick the most affordable drive with Samsung SSD 850 EVO the capacity you need, from a name-brand maker you are willing to In other words, SSD performance and capacity have gone up trust with your data. If you want to go deeper, though, to make dramatically, while prices have dropped substantially over time. sure you’re getting the fastest, potentially longest-lasting drive for That makes an SSD one of the best bang-for-the-buck purchases your budget dollar, we’ll detail many of these considerations any PC or Mac user can make. below, to help you make the smartest choice. 41 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

We’re also talking strictly about traditional 2.5-inch SSDs here, users, TLC drives' performance is perfectly acceptable, but keep which are the same size and shape as the hard drives found in reading... many mainstream laptops. If you have a recent slim laptop or 2- in-1, it may require a gumstick-shaped M.2 drive (if you can TLC-DRIVE PROVISOS. We mentioned above that TLC SSDs can upgrade it at all). For details about those drives and the best suffer from slower write speeds compared to MLC SSDs. The models we’ve tested, check out our alternate buying guide The basic reason is that TLC flash simply has more bits to deal with on Best M.2 Solid-State Drives. a per-cell level. Manufacturers have been able sidestep this limitation, however, with clever caching technology that basically MLC VERSUS TLC FLASH MEMORY. Easily the biggest technical treats a portion of the drive as if it were a much faster type of flash consideration that shoppers have to make these days when opting memory (SLC, or "single-layer cell"), and all write operations are for a budget SSD is what type of flash memory will be inside the initially cached to this speedier buffer. Then, when the system is slim enclosure. If you’re not familiar with the terms "MLC" and idle, the buffer transfers the data to the slower TLC NAND. "TLC," you can get up to speed with our primer Buying a Solid- State Drive: 20 Terms You Need To Know. But we'll give you the SanDisk Ultra Plus short version here. The limitation of this approach is that the buffer is small (usually between 6GB and 10GB), as it has to be small enough to not OCZ Trion 150 impact overall drive capacity substantially, or increase costs. So, The first letter in both flash types refers to the number of bits each on TLC drives, if you try to copy a chunk of data that is larger than cell can hold. So the "M" in MLC stands for "multi," meaning (in the buffer, you will see a dramatic decline in write performance. this particular case), that the memory can host two bits per cell. The "T" in TLC stands for "triple," or three bits per cell. In a drive Most mainstream users won’t do this on a regular basis, so it’s not with thousands or millions of cells, having that extra bit in each cell a huge problem. But be mindful of this issue when considering a to store stuff adds up quickly, allowing TLC drives to hold more TLC drive, particularly if you’re a content creator or otherwise deal data than MLC drives using the same amount of silicon. This also with massive files, or moving big hunks of data on and off your lowers production costs, since fewer physical modules need to be drive on a regular basis. If this sounds like you, it’s worth paying made to store the same amount of data. extra for a costlier MLC drive instead of a budget-priced TLC option. Though TLC tech was originally much slower (specifically, when writing) and considered a less reliable than MLC drives in heavy TLC LONGEVITY. The other knock against TLC NAND flash is that rotation, those concerns have been alleviated over time (in ways it generally has a shorter lifespan than more traditional MLC-based we’ll touch on below). TLC drives are now considered to be a safe flash memory. And this is a fact backed up by specifications, not buy for general computing use. just conjecture. Cells in an SSD that already contain data have to be erased, and only then written, every time your PC triggers a Since TLC modules are less expensive to make, and provide new write operation for that cell. Since erasing a cell, then writing decent performance, most manufacturers have jumped aboard the to it, will slow down the overall operation, the SSD controller TLC NAND bandwagon recently, making this type of SSD the de makes sure to write to new cells (that don't need pre-erasing) facto drive type for those looking for a low-cost SSD. For most when it can. But at some point, it has to start erasing previously used cells and writing to them. 42 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016

Toshiba Q300 STICK WITH NAME BRANDS. At one time, the big-name brands in the SSD world offered only semi-expensive SSDs, not wanting This routine of writing to a cell can be repeated only so many times to dilute their brands' value (or slice profits super-thin) by diving before a given cell can no longer hold data. In MLC drives, a into the low-end SSD market. (That’s our interpretation, anyway.) typical cell can be written to and erased roughly 5,000 times But now that SSDs have become far more common and TLC before it’s no longer functional. On a TLC drive, this falls to around NAND has proven to be an effective low-cost alternative to higher- 1,000 cycles. This seems like a dramatic decline, but oftentimes priced solutions, nearly every major drive manufacturer has an this problem is mitigated by a process called "drive over- "entry level" SSD to compete in that segment. Intel is perhaps the provisioning." In it, a chunk of the drive is kept hidden and unused, lone holdout on that front, at this point. The company seems more only to be enabled when other cells begin to wear out. focused on the enterprise-storage market, and pushing innovation In the real world, we have never heard of any mainstream user, from that area downward. So while Intel does offer plenty of either a tech professional or a consumer in a forum, who has consumer-focused SSDs, they tend to be costlier than much of the written a drive to death, unless they were using it to run a server, competition's. or some other task where the system is powered up and being If you’re looking to save some bucks on your SSD purchase, you accessed almost constantly. can still pick from plenty of drives from the likes of Samsung, Zotac Premium SSD Crucial/Micron, OCZ, Kingston, SanDisk, and others. All offer recent budget-priced drives, so shop from a brand you’re willing to In fact, The Tech Report ran a long-term experiment, writing to a trust with your data. If you find a drive that’s enticingly cheap, but batch of SSDs until they died to see how long they would last. it’s made by a company you’ve never heard of, it’s probably not Samsung’s TLC-based SSD 840 drive wrote over 800 terabytes worth the gamble. At best, it might be annoyingly slow. At worst, it before giving up the digital ghost. In the real world, unless you’re could gobble up your data, then curl up and die. running something like a heavily trafficked server, or doing some other kind of extremely write-heavy task day in, day out, it would SOFTWARE. Though many seasoned enthusiasts and SSD vets take the average user several years, or more likely a decade, to don’t find bundled software or utilities a necessity, some write that much data to an SSD. So unless you plan on using your manufacturers offer a software package with their SSDs that can SSD as your primary drive for 10 years or more (which would make be surprisingly useful. Samsung and Intel kicked off this trend a little sense, given how much cheaper and better SSDs are still few years ago by pairing their drives with robust software utilities getting), you generally don’t have to worry much about drive that let you examine every facet of the drive, including its overall endurance. health level, amount of data written to it, and whether or not your system is set up to extract maximum performance from the SSD. Still, that shouldn’t be used an excuse not to back up your important data. They are not spinning hard drives, but it’s entirely Since these two leading manufacturers began offering software possible for any SSD to fail randomly due to a defect, a power utilities, many others have started to follow suit. But the utility of surge, or some other unforeseen event. You may be able to get a these free tools can range wildly, from slick and feature-rich, to drive replaced if it’s under warranty, but the new drive that gets garish and barely useful. Some include a simple, bare-bones utility mailed to you won’t have your old data on it, of course. that just lets you update the drive’s firmware, and nothing else. Generally, a firmware update shouldn’t be necessary unless there’s

43 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016 a problem with performance. So you shouldn’t have to do this AI unless the company made a mistake or rushed a drive out before it was fully ready. Best of Both Samsung Magician By Kathy Garges Our advice, if you’re the sort to tinker, is to purchase a drive that includes utility software, but read up on the included software first, if possible. In our opinion, Samsung provides the best software Rather than a robot apocalypse, we should fear packages with its drives, though Crucial, SanDisk, and Intel are all the stealth aspects of new technologies like artificial intelligence good options on the software front, as well. that exploit our psychological vulnerabilities, according to Reclaiming Conversation, a new book by MIT professor Sherry Likewise, you may want to look for a drive that includes a drive- Turkle. Since Turkle’s previous book, Alone Together, which cloning utility if you’re upgrading from a drive in an existing PC, sounded a strong alarm, there has been new research that shows, rather than installing a new OS from scratch. The lowest-priced for example, that most teens sleep with their phones and are drives usually do without these niceties, but free programs can get showing smaller emotional range and slower reaction time than the job done, as well. We’ve had lots of luck using the free Home teens of less than ten years ago. Sounds like a zombie menace version of EaseUS’s Disk Copy. from within, doesn’t it?

WARRANTY. As with any hardware purchase, you’ll want to check Adults are just as vulnerable. Workplaces have become hives of the manufacturer’s warranty terms before purchase. Most budget cubicles where workers are connected to each other only by drives we’ve tested feature a three-year warranty, rather than the technology, nested in wires, consoles and invisible wireless cross- longer plans of pricier premium drives. But there is one standout, waves, like pilots in cockpits. At home, parents ignore their and that’s the Samsung SSD 850 EVO. children’s pleas to get off their phones and interact face to face. This TLC-based drive delivered class-leading performance in many One example, overheard by this writer recently in a café: “Dad, of our benchmark tests, and it has a class-leading warranty of five help me study. You said we were both going to study but only you years. Samsung was able to make advancements with its TLC are studying.” Dad mumbles to his eager daughter, “I’m not going flash, combining it with the company’s vertically-stacked V-NAND, to just give you the answers,” but does not break his focus on the to make drives that are low in cost but similar in endurance to laptop screen. pricier MLC drives. The SSD 850 EVO isn’t the lowest-cost drive you’ll find. But it does have a longer warranty and higher write- The Second Self, an earlier book by Turkle, a clinical psychologist endurance ratings than most competing drives in the low-price- and sociologist, viewed new computer technologies as beneficial SSD field. psychological mirrors for humans of all ages. Here she explains that a turning point occurred in her views about technology when she noticed that human reactions to robots, AI and technology were changing, and in a negative way. In Reclaiming Conversation, she borrows a helpful metaphor from Henry David Thoreau to describe the problem.

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will make it less likely they’ll be misheard, and are even using “fight Thoreau wrote that he furnished his cabin at Walden Pond with tracking” apps to detect patterns in their conflicts. three chairs, one for solitude, two for friendship, and three for partying (which he called society). Turkle adds a fourth Throughout Reclaiming Conversation and in a special guideposts conversational mode which Thoreau did not make explicit but section, Turkle offers some ideas for changing these negative would certainly agree with: communing with nature. She argues effects of technology, including suggestions from other persuasively that new technology, especially smart technology, is researchers. Humans can design technology to limit its misuse of interfering with all these aspects of human conversation in ways our vulnerabilities by, for example, making it a default to end a that are often hidden from our awareness. Our technology is connection rather than continue it (like an old-fashioned telephone preventing us from thinking clearly, communicating with each operator who interrupts to ask a caller to deposit another nickel), other, and getting things done (GTD), which are, ironically, the very and by designing social media websites to ask our permission first reasons we have embraced it. and not assume, as Facebook did, that we have all had such a great year that we will want to see it in a special “review.” In line with the book’s theme of conversation, much of Turkle’s original research used interviews and focus groups rather than In one of the few examples in the book of the benefits of AI, Turkle other psychology and sociology research methods like surveys cites research by Ben Waber (who works independently and also and experimental studies with control groups. She also cites and collaborates with the MIT Media Lab) that uses an AI wearable discusses evidence from recent studies by other researchers and device called a “sociometric badge” to record data about personal organizations in the social sciences, including the Pew Research interactions in the workplace, such as body language, turn taking Center, which describes itself as a “nonpartisan fact tank,” and the patterns, and tone of voice. Waber consulted at the request of Berkman Center for Internet & Society, a public policy organization Google to determine that a 3-4 minute wait in a cafeteria line housed at Harvard University, both engaged in ongoing research in maximizes human conversation, and a cafeteria table with 10-14 this area. chairs is the optimal size for encouraging newcomers to join.

Among Turkle’s most interesting findings are that teens believe Suggestions for individual humans include unitasking, talking in texting allows them to express their thoughts better than they do in person (or by phone) with someone with whom you disagree, face-to-face conversation and that arguing via messaging allows thinking about using the best tool for a task rather than going with them to reduce the level of emotion to a more manageable level. the natural tendency to use the one closest to hand, and creating This reasoning seems to arise from the belief that by using situations for better human interaction by clearly stating to other technology humans can make fewer mistakes. Although Turkle participants that one is offline, not on the computer and cannot doesn’t make the connection explicit, these analytical and see messages. Turkle emphasizes, above all, that we need to have perfectionist impulses also appear as threads in her research compassion and understanding for ourselves and others about our about human use of technology in the workplace and in romantic human vulnerabilities to the negative effects of technology. relationships. Workers use technology to “speak for the record” in meetings instead of exchanging viewpoints and wrestling with Reclaiming Conversation covers a broad range of human problems. Lovers record their spats by messaging in the belief this psychology and sociology, including fascinating insights in the areas of education, politics and privacy in addition to the areas

45 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5 MAIN LINE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP MAY 2016 already mentioned, but questions naturally arise about the limitations of this research. The technology Turkle is concerned Reclaiming Conversation offers fascinating new information about about is recent, introduced in about the last ten years, and the the impact that new technology is having on humans (some of it in biggest users are teens. Both the short time period since the the endnotes, so be sure to read those, too). It provides a useful entrance of these new technologies and the intertwining of their framework (Thoreau’s chairs) and helpful ideas for how individuals heaviest use with the notoriously awkward adolescent years make and society can avoid the negative effects of smart technology. An it difficult to draw a strong conclusion that technology is the optimistic reader can read Reclaiming Conversation as supporting culprit. Humans in organizations like schools and workplaces the perspective of Turkle’s earlier research in The Second Self, that create complex social structures so, here again, it’s questionable artificial intelligence and other new technology offer humans a to focus on technology as the main cause of organizational mirror, a tool that we can use for positive growth and for dysfunctions. understanding ourselves more deeply, and that we can find a way to enjoy the best of both our humanity and our technology. Perhaps technology is mirroring or magnifying existing issues, or misuse of technology is just one symptom of deeper issues that Sources and additional information: already exist. Turkle’s perspective, that technology is at fault because it has some effects that humans may not be aware of, Sherry Turkle, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a tends to unreasonably foreclose deeper questions about why Digital Age, Penguin 2015. humans want to avoid messy interactions and appear perfect to others, and why human society seems to reward our attempts to P e w R e s e a rc h C e n t e r - I n t e r n e t , S c i e n c e & Te c h , do this. In addition, although the identities of most research www.pewinternet.org/. subjects are disguised for confidentiality reasons, Turkle’s research seems to be “white bread,” focusing on the U.S. middle class. Berkman Center for Internet & Society, cyber.law.harvard.edu/ Research on technology use in other cultures or other U.S. subcultures might provide some useful information. Ben Waber, et al., Sociometric Badges, MIT Media Lab, hd.media.mit.edu/badges/index.html. Turkle only touches on some of the darker issues that smart technology seems to have brought up from the depths of human Jessica Goldstein, " ‘Violence Against Women Gets Treated psychology, like the vast zones of online gambling, pornography, Differently’: A Congresswoman Battles Online Harassment," scamming and spamming; the anonymous trolls who take pleasure ThinkProgress, April 19, 2016, tinyurl.com/zj98gvo. in disrupting online conversations; and the worsening online abuse of women (especially gamers and writers on STEM subjects) and Katharine Viner, "How do we make the Guardian a better place for other target groups. The book includes many thought-provoking conversation?" The Guardian, April 22, 2016, tinyurl.com/zsy5zad. questions: What exactly is on the screens that humans are focused on? But there are many other questions that come to mind, such as whether trolls are just drunks and disruptors, or whether their activities can give us insights into in-person bullying or provide kernels of truth (as hecklers and fools sometimes do).

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